Here is some more information on the opening of the Season in St. Petersburg from a book of memoirs of an American Diplomat's wife published in Jan. 1912, though I think the description must date from the late 1890's or early 1900's.
"It was upon the Russian New Year, two weeks after the one in our calandar, that the season began. Everyone in the diplomatic and offical world, the army and the navy, presented their congradulations at the Winter Palace, the Russians at eleven o'clock, sa the sovereigns passed through the state apartments to attend Mass in the palace chapel, and the foreigners at twelve o'clock, as the royal procession wended its way returning. The afternoon was the busiest one of the year, the ambassadors and sescretaries taking separate carriages from their wives, and driving about in as haste as dignity would permit, to write their names upon the caller's book at the palace of each member of the imperial family, and to call personally upon their own colleagues. Etiquette required that it must all be done between two and six; and every one arrived home exhausted, just in time to dress for the first state ball. This was a general mustering of society, some four thousand people, whose equipages created intense excitement in the crowded streets near the Winter Palace, as their drivers made the rush in quick succession up to the entrance, and discharged their passangers as if shot from the mouth of a cannon, into the shelter of the protecting canvas. The big palace doors opened and shut almost as quickly, and guests trooped up the marble stairs, where for three flights up the walls on both sides were lined with huntsmen, grooms, and all the staff of the imperial hunt, in dark-blue or green kaftans, edged with gold lace, the jockeys in richly embroidered jackets, buckskin breeches, and topboots.
The St. Nicholas Hall, with its sixteen windows overlooking the Neva, and colossal sideboards laden with gold plate, upon which, according to one of the oldest Russian customs, bread and salt had been offered as homage to the sovereigns by different cities throughout the empire,--had its gold and white walls hung with garlands of fresh flowers; and it was flooded with thousands of electric lights, reproducing all the beauties of the ceiling decorations upon the polished inlaid floors. The St. George's Hall and the Concert Hall opened out upon it, and a large conservatory was transformed into an Italian garden, a sincle incandescent light from above shedding soft rays like moonlight through the tops of the palms and over splashing fountains and marble statues."
I will post more latter, but that does give quite an marvellous sense of the pagentry of the opening of the season's first ball. Griff
